


Almost

by InkForBlood (tuzitokki)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, Family, Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-14 18:02:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16497542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuzitokki/pseuds/InkForBlood
Summary: Cautiousness should never be underrated.





	Almost

**Author's Note:**

> Another old work cross-posted from fictionpress. Can't quite remember why I wrote it, but probably to raise awareness for young women?

Nadia leaned back against the mound of her pillows, trying to relax after a hectic day. She'd come home – a three-hour commute in an overfull bus with sweaty men and crying babies– from a full day at university to try and surprise her parents, only to be greeted at the door by the sight of them leaving for an impromptu overnight date. She sighed, frustrated. Her surprise had turned out to be a complete failure.

She let her mind drift, thinking of all the things she'd have to finish for the upcoming week. There was the speech she had to give, a class presentation she and her group still needed to practice, the paper she hadn't yet started and was due on Friday…

She was half-asleep, drifting on thoughts of papers and presentations, when she heard a crash from below. Surprised, she shot up and instinctively grabbed the penknife her father had insisted she keep with her at all times, fear spiking her adrenaline. She got out of bed and shut off the only remaining light in her bedroom, then tiptoed to the door as quietly as possible to make sure it was secure. Her heart beat hard against her chest, and the hairs at the back of her neck stood up on end as images of serial killer and rapists flashed thorough her mind.

She listened at the door for a little while, but heard only the sound of the hard-blowing wind outside. She wondered if a window had been left open downstairs, and if the sound she heard was of something being knocked down. Deciding that was probably it, she debated between going down and checking on it or leaving it until morning. Fatigue won out, and she headed to bed, keeping the small knife with her, just in case. Still, it was a while before she could sleep.

* * *

Someone pounding on her door and the sound of her name being shouted frantically woke her out of a dead sleep. Groggy, it took her a full minute to realize that she wasn't dreaming, and that her frantic parents were shouting at her to open the door. Before she could do so, it exploded burst open, followed immediately by her father who looked as if he'd muscled it open.

"Dad! What the hell?!" she screamed, astounded.

Ignoring her question, he knelt on the bed and started checking her for injuries, patting her head and arms. His wife followed suit, talking rapidly into her cell phone.

"Yes, thank you. We'll be waiting." Her mother disconnected the phone and turned her full attention on her daughter. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No, I – Dad, you're choking me," Nadia choked out as her father, satisfied that she wasn't injured, smothered her in a bear hug.

"Thank God you're alright," he muttered into her hair.

"Of course I am." Nadia's bewilderment only increased as her mother, usually restrained, locked her in a tight hug, right along with her father. "Okay, wait, what the hell is going on?" Both her parents pulled back, and she saw the receding panic in their eyes. "You guys are starting to freak me out. Please answer me before I go crazy," she pleaded.

"You're sure you're not hurt?" her mother asked.

"Like I said, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Her mother and father looked at each other, linking hands as if to steady themselves before answering. "When we came back this morning, we found one of the front windows open," her father said cautiously.

"Oh, so that's probably where the wind came from last night."

"The wind?" Jane asked her daughter.

"Yeah. Last night I thought I heard something crash downstairs. I almost went down to check," she said with an amused little smile, "but I figured it must have been the wind."

Sebastian shuddered. "It's a good thing you didn't."

Her father's reaction had her smile fading. "Why? What happened?

Her mother answered. "When we came in, the living room was a mess. The sofa was turned over, the shelves had been knocked down, the throw pillows had been slashed open. Some of the wooden furniture had hack marks, as if an ax had been at them. Most of the rest of the house – what we saw on the way up – is in pretty much the same shape, if not worse." As she spoke, she watched the color drain from her daughter's face. Worried that the girl might faint, she shoved her head between her knees. "Breathe," she ordered.

Nadia obeyed, unable to do otherwise. Inside, she was panicking. If she hadn't been so tired, if she'd gone down to check… She shuddered. She didn't even want to think of what might have happened.

She raised her head when she heard the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway. "Who's that?" She couldn't hold back the tremor in her voice.

Hearing it, her father engulfed her in another embrace. "It's probably the police, honey. Your mother called them on the way up."

"Oh." Reassured, she watched her mother go down to greet the police.

A few minutes later, her mother entered her room again, followed by two officers, one male and one female. They stopped at the doorway while her mother approached her.

"Nadia, are you up to talking to these officers about what happened last night?" Jane asked.

"Um, sure, I guess," Nadia replied.

"Officer Granger ma'am," the male officer greeted. "Mind telling us what happened?"

"Well…" Nadia proceeded to tell them everything she could remember, struggling not to omit anything. "That's about it, really. I didn't go check, I was so tired already, and Mom always told me not to go down if I'm alone in the house."

"It's a good thing you stayed put," the female, Officer Whitney, commented. "Otherwise things will be a lot different."

"What do you mean?" Sebastian demanded.

"Well sir, a few blocks from here, another break-in had been reported. Turns out, the lady of the house was alone too, but she probably decided to go down instead of staying put. The guy who broke in raped and killed her before proceeding to destroy the rest of the house, much like he'd done here."

"Oh my God."

"Yeah well, no need to worry anymore. The guy's been caught and in prison now, so you can rest easy." Officer Granger closed the notebook he'd been taking notes in. "We'll be taking our leave now. Ma'am, sir," he nodded to Jane and Sebastian. "Thank you for your cooperation ma'am," he said to Nadia. Jane and Sebastian escorted them out.

Nadia shuddered, fear coursing through her. Never, she decided, would she ever go anywhere alone at night. Better safe than sorry, she decided, and headed down to thank her parents for raising her to be cautious and vigilant.


End file.
